Needless to say, this isn't a definitive "First Of/Last Of " list. It's limited to the horns that have come to
light since December 2005, with the additions of the trumpets listed on Jim Donaldson's site (with his
permission). This list is constantly changing, of course, but it tries to cover all the possibilities.
If I've left out a possible category please let me know.
Chicago Benge Models
The first medium-large bore Bb: #500
The first medium bore Bb: #637
The first medium-large bore cornet: #897
The first large bore Bb: #1501
The first large bore cornet: #1581
The first medium-large bore C: #2429*
The first C with a French bell: #2460*
The first D: #2470
The first D/Eb: #2575
The last Chicago Benge: #3350
* C trumpet #2285 appears to be a cut-down Bb with a French bell
Burbank Benge Models
The first medium-large bore Bb: #3352
The first medium-large bore C: #3609
The first medium-large bore D/Eb: #4229
The first medium-large-plus bore Bb: #3885
The first medium-large-plus bore C: #4810
The first large bore Bb: #1705
The first cornet: #4119
The first pocket trumpet: #6246
As above, the following is not a definitive list. For example, none of the large bore Burbanks
were actually stamped with a 6; that started with the Los Angeles Benges. The first edition of the
Benge brochure (from the mid-1960s) didn't even list the L bores as a 6X! The list was as follows:
M, 2X, 2XP, 3X, 3XP, 4X, 5X, L.
By the second edition (1971) the M bore was listed as a 1X
and the L as a 6X, but before 1970 or so
it seemed enough just to stamp an M or an L on the horn.
The same goes for the 3X model, as, technically, the first 3X would have been a Chicago medium
large bore trumpet with the smaller bell. The 3 was not stamped on Burbanks until well into the
process; an unnumbered horn was assumed to be a 3X.
At this point I'm trying to discern the points
at which the model number was stamped on the actual trumpets. On a Burbank Benge, the place to look is the ferrule that joins the bell to the 1st valve casing; it's at the very bottom of the instrument.
The original stamps included an X (2X, 3X, 5X), but, eventually, they stopped stamping the letter
and just went with the number (2, 3, 5). The earliest trumpet stamped in the manner (to date) is #5190,
and the latest horn stamped (so far) with an X is #5163.
The medium bore (1X) and large bore (6X) horns were not stamped as such until the Los Angeles
years. If there are any Burbank 4Xs out there (they were in the catalog) they have not yet surfaced.
Stamped and Unstamped Instruments (Burbanks)
The first 1X: #4188
The first 2X: #3830
The first 2X+: #5732
The first 3X: #3352
The first 3X+: #3935
The first 4X: none that I know of
The first 5X: #3735
The first 6X: #1705
Stamped Instruments (Burbanks)
The first 1X: none that I know of
The first 2X: #4608
The first 2X+: #5732
The first 3X: #4744
The first 3X+: #5191
The first 4X: none that I know of
The first 5X: #4694
The first 6X: none that I know of
#4188 & #6453 are the only medium-bore Burbanks to surface so far; that would make them the
only two Burbank 1X trumpets on my list, although neither was stamped with a 1. All large bores
are, essentially, 6Xs, but none were stamped that way until after the move from Burbank.
Stamped and Unstamped Instruments (Burbanks)
The first 1C: #4810
The first 1C+: #4810
The first 2C: #4781
The first 2C+: #4870
The first 3C: As far as I can tell, the renaming of the 2C+ to the 3C occurred during the transition
from Burbank to Los Angeles. The 1971 catalog (from Olive St. in Los Angeles), lists a 1C, 2C
and 3C, with the 3C being an MLP. I have not yet found a Burbank C trumpet stamped with a 3;
I've also never found a Los Angeles MLP C trumpet stamped with a 2.
However, I would not be
surprised to find some transitional horns that did not fit this pattern.
Stamped Instruments (Burbanks)
The first 1C: #6592
The first 1C+: none that I know of
The first 2C: #5722
The first 2C+: #5742
The last Burbank bell with a street address: #8276
The first Burbank bell without a street address: #8280
Some have estimated the amount of Burbanks with no street address to be @400 horns;
I don't see it. Donald Benge put the
number at 50-60 horns; my guess is @100 instruments.
They're much rarer than was previously thought! Things seemed to get a bit consistent during the
transition, as #8391 has the street address but #8396 does not.
The last Burbank bell: #8396
Los Angeles Benge Models
I especially welcome additions to this list, as the vast majority of Los Angeles horns were out of the
scope of my early Benge project. However, I have started to gather data on the LA horns and I'll
be expanding the website as time goes on, so please submit info on LA instuments, too!
The first Los Angeles Benge: #8399
The first
Claude Gordon model: #9227
The first LA D/Eb: #9518
The first large bore cornet: #10776
The first 6X (actually stamped with a 6): #11519
The first flugelhorn: #18429
The first piccolo trumpet: #24127
The first herald trumpet: #9470
The first (and only, so far) 1X: #10828
The first 4X: #12289
The first 7X: #41425
The first 1C:
The first 2C: #32121
The first 3C: #10138
The LA 3C is the same as the Burbank 2X+.
The first FL-1 flugel: #18429
The first FL-3 flugel: #19497
The first FL-5 flugel: #18443
The first 3X piccolo trumpet: #25601
The first 5X piccolo trumpet: #24127
The first 3Z cornet: #23779
The first 6Z cornet: #23752
The first 8Z cornet: #29497
I'd especially like to narrow down the point at which the bells, instead of the ferrules, were first
stamped with numbers. Again, this is only a list of the horns that have come to light; please contact
me if you have an instrument that would make this list more accurate. It seems that there was not a
clear point at which the change took place, based on #19286, which had a custom-engraved bell,
and so left the factory later than horns with a similar number.
The latest ferrule with a number:
Trumpet:
#19286 (#19840 has a stamp on both the bell and the ferrule)
Flugelhorn: #21095 (it has a stamp on both the bell and the ferrule)
The first bell with a number: #18988
Other than the earliest horns, Claude Gordon models, in general, have neither a bell number
nor a ferrule stamp. The latest CG with a ferrule stamp (so far) is #20000.
The first bell with a 1: #28465 (flugelhorn); (no trumpets yet)
The first bell with a 2: #19840
The first bell with a 3: #18988 (trumpet); #23779 (cornet); #24052 (flugelhorn); #25601 (piccolo)
The first bell with a 4: #26005
The first bell with a 5: #195xx (flugelhorn); #20800 (trumpet); #24127 (piccolo)
The first bell with a 6: #19684
The first bell with a 7: #41431
The first bell with a 8: #25926 (cornet)
The first medium bore C: none that I know of
The first large bore C: none that I know of
The only six-digit LA Benge (so far): #956591
This horn, a 7X (large-plus bore) has an LA bell and BENGE stamped on the bottom of the
2nd valve casing, as opposed to "USA," which is stamped on the Eastlake horns.
#960091 (a 3) and #960105
(a 3X+) have LA bells but USA stamped on the 2nd valves.
#960229 (a 5X) has USA on both the bell and the 2nd valve casing. More examples of differing
models will be needed in order to get a handle on this transition.
The last bells stamped 'Los Angeles' (with BENGE stamped on the 2nd valve casing)
Bb: #43138
C: #32121
Cornet: #42006
Flugel: #42153
1X: #10828
2X: #41638
2X+: #40472
3X: #43128
3X+: #43046
4X: #26005
5X: #43138
6X: #39248
7X: #956591
CG: #42746
Pocket: #43244
Piccolo: #41538
Herald: #24507
FL-1: #38158
FL-3: #41036
FL-5: #42153
3Z: #42006
6Z: #23752
8Z: #40956
1C: *
2C: #32121
3C: #21825
* no ML C trumpets with the "French" bell, made in LA, have yet to surface
Post-Los Angeles Models
The was some overlap of numbers between bells stamped "Los Angeles, California"
and those stamped "USA." That makes sense, as the specialty horns (anything but a Bb)
were made in batches, but not fully assembled until an order was placed. For this transition I choose
to go with the stamping on the 2nd valve casing. If it's stamped BENGE the casing was made in
California. If USA, then Ohio.
The first bells stamped 'USA':
#42377 (piccolo); #43xxx (D/Eb); #42331 (flugel)
I have not yet found a five-digit Benge USA Bb trumpet. The earliest that I've run across is #106047,
said to have been originally purchased in December 1985.
I welcome further input.
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